Veracity
by Valak
Summary: Lies are easy,the truth so difficult. After living a life of lies as a spy turned assassin Alex is faced with his past when he is captured and sent to Brecon Beacons. While there he is forced to find the hardest truth of all, that which is within himself.
1. Lies and Lying

**AN: This is my first true fanfiction. It is set during Eagle Strike in an alternate universe where Yassen took Alex to Scorpia for training.I hope it lives up to your expectations. Enjoy!**

**Veracity**

The cool Atlantic wind washed over the shore, causing all who were walking on the boardwalk to carefully clutch their jackets and dates a little closer to them. It was July, the height of tourist season in the casino capital of the east coast and the boardwalk was packed with tourists and couples enjoying the games despite the lateness of the night. From the top of the brightly lit ferris wheel, Alex Rider could take in this entire scene, including his target who was staring wistfully across the ocean as he waited for his date to return from the ladies' room. The warmth of the person next to him blocked the wind as he brought the rifle's edge to the corner of the basket farthest from him. Under the guise of being cold the young boy lay across the man's lap and took aim. With a muffled pop he fired and quickly disassembled the gun, shoving it into his bag. The sound of screams from down below was muffled by the icy silence of his adrenalin rush.

"Good shot, Alex" warm breath whispered into his ear and nothing showed on the boy's face but for the small twitch of his lips.

**Veracity**

"We have received reports from our counterparts at the CIA that a rogue MI6 agent and his 'handler' are in the United States." Tulip Jones stated staring impassively over the room full of men.

"We have received permission to run a tactical mission to intercept them. That is what you are here for."

She pressed a button and a picture appeared on the screen. "This is Alex Rider, do not let his appearance fool you," she cautioned as the crowd moved restlessly, smiles breaking across some of their faces as they saw the face of the teen, an easy capture.

"He was one of the top agents in MI6 before he went rogue a year ago while on a mission and was not heard from until another of our agents saw him. He is now a fully trained assassin in Scorpia and will not hesitate to take you down for his freedom."

The screen changed once more and a familiar face appeared, tension streaked through the air like lightning "I see you all recognize _this _man. Yassen Gregorovitch is the handler of whom I spoke and is believed to have captured and trained Agent Rider." A murmur flew through the SAS men but was quieted by the woman's stare

" We want _him_" she stressed pointing to Alex where the screen had divided to show the two "captured alive and mostly unharmed. We will be outfitting you with tranquilizer guns for this reason. As for Gregorovitch," she cast a disdainful glance at the man " His state does not matter. Your primary target is Rider if he is captured and you have the opportunity, you may apprehend Gregorovitch as well. Is that clear?" the men expressed their agreement and the woman nodded curtly

"I will leave your Sergeant to explain the details of the mission. Good day, gentlemen." She left the stage for the imposing drill instructor.

**Veracity**

From the back of the room four SAS men stared dumbfounded at the picture in front of them. The life that had once filled his eyes was gone, replaced with the cold stare of an assassin. A single question echoed across their minds '_What happened to Cub?'_

**Veracity**

It was the sound of screams that alerted Wolf to the presence of his target. K-Unit had been allowed on leave for the night as the search for Alex Rider went onto night 11. They had come to the boardwalk hoping for a distraction, the thought of the two assassins here was almost laughable. The mass of people rushing his way said otherwise. He locked his gaze with Eagle's as he pulled out his phone and pressed 3 four times, the signal that the target had been sighted. He scanned the crowd looking for the boy but he knew that the young assassin would not have been that obvious. His gaze moved onto the rooftops of the shops and stands lining the area before settling on the ferris wheel. He waved his unit towards it, knowing that the SAS and police would have sealed off the boardwalk. The wheel was spinning as the operator hurried to get the stranded denizens off of it. He scanned the cars and saw a father and son a third of the way down. As he muscled his way through the crowd he realized with growing dread that he would be too late. He reached the base of the ride just as the two got off, their eyes mechanically scanning the crowd until Alex's locked on his, he stiffened and the man next to him did as well.

The boy's mouth twitched into a sardonic smile and Wolf felt tremors run up his spine, that look on Cub was just unnatural. He was quickly distracted by the boy's scream "He's got a gun!" Wolf found himself quickly brought to the ground by some 'heroic' bystanders. He had lost sight of the kid and the splash as the two slipped under the rail and into the crashing surf below was the signal that he had failed his mission.

**Veracity**

Three nights later found the two dining at a busy outdoor restaurant in Savannah. They sat at a small table overlooking the shore, moonlight casting shadows over the waves. With the news that the SAS were after them had forced them to stay in America for a few more days until their new passports arrived. No doubt the passports of Yamir and Aidan Petrovich had been flagged and were no longer of any use. The chatter of the café permeated the silence and the two assassins took to listening in on the conversations of the people around them to pass the time until Yassen's voice invaded the mutual silence between them.

"Care to tell me how you knew that man?" he queried, voice genial but the commanding undertone was not lost on Alex.

"I didn't. His countenance betrayed him."

"You're lying to me, Anton." The man stated, disappointment lacing his words.

The boy flinched at the accusation and resigned himself to telling the man "He was the leader of the unit that I trained with." The older man's eyes bore into him finally relenting when they found the truth.

"Why did he…..disturb you so much?" the man queried, searching for the right word.

"I don't know what you mean, Dad." Alex replied taking a measured sip of the water he had ordered, the word had left an odd taste in his mouth, despite being necessary for their cover.

"I think you do." Yassen returned, challenging.

"I don't want to talk about it." He murmured, not eager to recap his torture at Brecon Beacons.

"I'm not giving you that option." The man returned. A silence ensued, interrupted by the 'buzz' of a cell phone. Relief washed over the boy. He had been spared from his mentor's questioning if only for a little while. As he stood to take the call Yassen shot the boy one last look that clearly read 'we'll finish this later'.

Sinking into his seat he began to contemplate just what to tell the man about his time with K-Unit. He let his eyes trail placidly around the restaurant as he thought about it not really giving anyone a second glance until his eyes trailed over yet another familiar face, Snake. Their eyes met across the room and Alex cursed under his breath but he did not let recognition show, the man did not either, he had clearly been sent to trail them. It appeared that Alex would be unable to escape K-Unit.

The appearance of Yassen broke the stare and Alex waited for the man to sit down before calmly saying. "Dad, I'm not feeling good. Can we go home?"

The elder assassin surveyed him critically before nodding his consent. Alex stood, watching dispassionately as the man dropped a bill on the table before shadowing his mentor from the room. When they reached the street outside the restaurant the man murmured softly "What's wrong?"

"Another man from my unit was there. He was sent to tail us." The boy whispered letting his senses take over.

The crowded streets of Savannah provided decent coverage but amidst the partying teens and love struck couples the two stuck out which only helped their tails. They walked past an empty alleyway and Alex cursed lightly as Yassen pushed him in. He moved to return to the man's side but a warning look dissuaded him, it was a signal between the two that enemies were around . Alex ducked between a few bags of trash and an overflowing dumpster, adrenaline pumping wildly through his veins.

He kept his senses open, they had not failed him before and his mentor had taught him never to ignore a warning, right now it felt like every alarm in his head was going off. Something was very wrong and after a few minutes of staying still he risked a peek into the crowded street only to lock eyes with what was clearly an SAS man. Shit.

"Got him!" an unfamiliar voice shouted and the sound of pounding footsteps approached the alley entrance. "Kid, it's okay,_ Gregorovitch_" he spat the name "Isn't here. We'll take you back to MI6, no questions asked."

The adrenaline spiked at the mention of MI6 and he struck out at the man, landing a kick before bolting for the back of the alley, a gate presumably leading to one of the gardens blocked his progress; he could climb it he just needed to buy time. Shots whizzed by him, sticking awkwardly out of the walls and making Alex's blood freeze; tranquillizers had _not_ been what he had anticipated from the SAS men. As he approached the gate it rattled ominously and his hand brushed over the grip of his Grach but froze when he fully registered who the man was. Wolf had crested the gate top and was jumping down into the alleyway, Eagle following behind him. Alex sunk into a defensive position as K-Unit and the unit that had come as backup circled in.

"We don't want to fight you, Cub" Snake stated softly. "Just come with us."

"Don't bother," the man who had found him wheezed " He's Scorpia to the bone." The man hissed it as though it was an insult but Alex found himself smiling at the insinuation.

"Is that true, Cub?" Fox queried, Alex took that time to lash out, landing a crescent kick onto the nearest man. He distantly heard shots being fired, no doubt more of the tranquilizers, but ignored them, choosing to administer a punch to the jaw of the man he had winded earlier. A kick to the final man's throat left him with a path to freedom which he quickly took, K-Unit immediately following him. A shot landed in his shoulder as he arrived at the threshold to the street. His movements became sluggish but he kept going. He reached the street in a light jog and saw Yassen running towards him. An extra burst of energy appeared but it was too late, a harsh hand grabbed his shoulder, sinking the dart further into his skin.

"I don't think you're going anywhere, Cub." A voice growled from behind him and he felt the cool barrel of Wolf's gun at his temple. Yassen froze at the sight "Drop your weapons Gregorovitch or the boy dies."

The assassin seemed to size him up taking a step forward. Alex felt Wolf's grip tighten before it relaxed slightly as the man unholstered his Grach letting it clatter to the ground. Yassen's eyes met his gaze and Alex's mind screamed at the man that it was just a tranq gun but his body wouldn't obey.

"Walk away Gregorovitch, Cub belongs to us." Wolf growled and the assassin put his hands on his head, taking a final look at his young ward before moving into the crowd. An unspoken tension left the air as Wolf took the barrel away from his temple but the abandoned feeling did not leave Alex, the boy moved to strike at Wolf but the man caught his sloppy shot much too easy. "Nice try, Cub, but you're coming with us." He growled and shot the boy in the back. Darkness crowded Alex's vision and the boy felt strong arms catch him as he surrendered to it, the words of Wolf still echoing in his mind _'Cub belongs to us'_.

**Veracity**

I hoped you enjoyed it. Please review so I know whether or not to keep going. Thanks!


	2. The Haunting Past

**AN: Thanks for all of the positive feedback you really made my day. Some of you had questions about the story's place in the Alex Rider universe. I have it set during Eagle Strike in an AU where Damian Cray was assassinated by Yassen on Scorpia's orders and Alex was taken to "meet his destiny". I'm also looking for a beta please message me if you are interested, please. Enjoy!**

**Veracity**

""You lost your ward to _MI6 _on _American _soil." Yassen glared at him from over the desk a response as not needed. He had failed Alex and both he and Scorpia knew it. "At least reassure me that he did not going willingly."

The assassin seemed to pause in thought, while there had been no struggle in the street he did not presume to believe that the boy was in his right mind at the time. MI6 had wanted him back too badly to risk letting him come fully functional. "No, he fought them."

The board member, while not entirely happy did seem somewhat appeased at the words. He reclined back in his chair and laced his fingers together. "It's good to know that our investment was not completely for naught." He paused "This may not be all bad. Perhaps we can overlook your failure this one time. I will have to discuss it with the board but I believe we might have a new mission for you **and** your little ward. If you think he will not break under MI6."

Fury surged through Yassen's veins; the man's words were like salt to a fresh wound. He rested a heavy glare at the board member "You would do well to not insult my ward, Mr. Kroll. He is not responsible for my failure. Never the less, Alex is loyal to me. He would not abandon _me_ for MI6, _Scorpia_, however, is another matter…" he let the threat linger as he left the office.

**Veracity**

A rhythmic 'beep' slipped into the young assassin's subconscious, slowly pulling him from the slimy grip of the tranquilizer. As awareness came back to him he immediately shot up but was quickly snapped back down by thick hospital restraints. As his situation caught up with him he struggled against the cuffs feeling their harsh rubber edges cut into his skin. They had little give and Alex instinctually knew that he would not be able to escape through them. He ran through the mental checklist his mentor had instilled in him should he be captured. A pang went though his heart as he considered his failure he hoped the man would not kill him when he returned.

He took in what little he could see of the room, looking for a possible escape. It was utilitarian in style, with only a bank of monitors to his left and a small chair to his right which, at the moment, was empty. The two cameras mounted in the corners of the room were focused on him and he glared into their unseeing depths, his only response was a steady blink of red light. A small vent was mounted in the ceiling pumping fresh air in. It was too small to climb through should he ever be freed. The door was mounted seamlessly into the wall there would be no give there either. Alex slumped back onto the bed, regretting, not for the first time, that he had let his mentor down.

**Veracity**

" What do you think, Mrs. Jones?" the man queried not turning from his vigil over the screens.

"He is not the same boy we had a year ago." She stated plainly, as she unwrapped a peppermint.

"We know that. The question _is_, is he on our side?"

She stared at the boy as he struggled against the restraints. "We had heard from many sources that he and Gregorovitch were close."

"You don't think" the man trailed off.

"Not that kind of close," She replied curtly and she scrutinized the screen "though their relationship is a bit…..unnatural."

"What do you mean?" Blunt returned.

"From the reports we have received he has an abnormal attachment to Gregorovitch. A form of devotion, almost." She replied.

"I see." Blunt replied thoughtfully. "Then it can be assumed that he is not willingly returning."

"Yes, Alex Rider is a prisoner."

Blunt nodded and stood from his chair "We cannot let history repeat itself. We must get Alex Rider back on our side." With that said the man left the room, Mrs. Jones following obediently behind.

**Veracity**

A loud buzz and the sound of a door swinging open alerted Alex to the presence of someone in his room. As he lay there, anxiously awaiting the entrance of his 'visitors' into his range of vision, he was aware of just how compromising his position was. He gave another pull against his restraints but they only served to cut further into his skin.

"Welcome back, Alex." He remained stone faced, his mentor would not have approved of anything else.

"I see that you're not very talkative today." Mrs. Jones observed "That's not the Alex I knew." The boy did not respond to the obvious attempt to garner a reaction.

A tense silence reigned over the room until Mrs. Jones broke it "Alex," she began "You seem to be in quite the tight spot. You were captured by the SAS and so MI6 has no jurisdiction over you."

The lie permeated the room; Alex knew that MI6 could have jurisdiction over him if they wanted to. They could do anything they wanted to. They could get him away from the SAS just as easily as they had pulled him into their world. He felt no pity for them. As his mentor once told him, through his actions at Scorpia he was preventing MI6 from ever sentencing another child to death as they had to him. They deserved everything they got, the filthy bastards. His thoughts snapped back to the woman as he registered her speaking.

"…..be held at Brecon Beacons until they feel it is safe to move you." Mrs. Jones finished fixing him with an apologetic stare. He made no indication of it and merely continued to focus at the ceiling. "While there you will be undergoing an assessment so that they can judge your skill level. It would be beneficial to you to perform your best on the trials. If you do well enough perhaps the SAS will spare you and we can once again employ you so that your skills do not go to waste."

Mr. Blunt seemed to have finished his business here and stood up. "Good day, Alex" he bade before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones in tow.

'Brecon Beacons' the words stuck in his mind, dredging up the fear and hatred that the place inspired in him. It seemed as though the fates were conspiring against him, first K-Unit, then the loss of Yassen, and finally a return to hell on earth. His mentor would not leave him there for too long, though. If nothing else he deserved his time there for discarding his training and letting himself be captured. Yassen did not deserve a ward like him. As the thought echoed in his head he allowed himself to fall back into the warm darkness offered by the medication.

**Veracity**

One by one the men filled into the chairs in one of the auditoriums that dotted the camp, usually used for weapons or language lectures. Today, it was to serve as an impromptu briefing room. The Sergeant stood at the front, to the side of a large projector screen. He unfolded his arms as the last men took their seats and the room silenced.

"Alright, men, what you are about to be briefed on is a confidential matter. Is that understood?" the man barked.

"HOO-AH!" the soldier's yelled in return

"We have been tasked by the higher ups to hold a highly trained Scorpia agent." The man paced across the stage, not sounding pleased at the situation. "Your mission is to keep him _here_. He _will _attempt escape and Scorpia_ will_ be trying to get him back but he _must_ stay here." He paused and fixed the men with a commanding stare "At any costs. Are there any questions?"

A man in the back confidently raised his hand. "Yes, Seal?"

" Sir, may we see a visual of the target?"

The Sergeant nodded and the screen came alive, clearly displaying the picture of Alex Rider. A mixture between a sigh of relief at his young face and the unspoken tension of recognition filled the room. "Some of you may recognize this as, Cub," the man directed. "He trained at Brecon Beacons 2 years ago with K-Unit before being taken away by MI6. As you can see he has since defected to Scorpia. That is all you need to know about him. Any other questions?" the man barked, no one raised their hands. "Good. One last thing, do not underestimate Cub, he is a deadly weapon created by Scorpia and will not hesitate to harm you. You would do well to not provoke him. Is that understood?" Another 'hoo-ah' went up from the crowd "Then get the fuck out of my sight!" the man barked and the soldiers hurriedly filed out.

**Veracity**

A sharp creak awoke the young assassin. The loud noise brought him quickly to reality and he shot up, distantly noting the lack of restraints. He surveyed the room, expecting a cell but was surprised to see the barracks at Brecon Beacons, the one place on earth that he wished he would never have to come back to. He focused on his surroundings three men were currently lacing up their boots, the fourth was walking calmly up the aisle towards him.

"Get dressed, Cub." He growled, throwing him a filled backpack.

The boy quietly obeyed, watching as Snake, Fox, and Eagle slowly trickled out, their eyes lingering on him even as they left. As he stood to walk to the door he noted Wolf following uncomfortably close behind him, suddenly he felt the man move behind him and attempted to duck out of the way but it seemed the man anticipated it and he found himself pinned by the neck against the wall, Yassen would have been so disappointed. He struggled against the powerful man, but short of seriously injuring the SAS Officer he was powerless against the older man's grip.

"Listen, Cub." He hissed, "We all know where you've been and what you are. We won't put up with your Scorpia shit. Our job right now is to make sure you stay here, if that means tying you up I'll fucking do it but the higher ups are convinced that there's still some good in you, which is why you aren't sitting in a lonely little cell right now." The man fixed him with a hard stare. "Just because they believe in you doesn't mean I trust you; I won't risk you endangering _my _unit because you decided to run back home to _Daddy_. You got that?" Wolf demanded and Alex only kept a stony gaze on him. "Good. Every eye in this camp is on you Cub, so don't try to pull any shit; no one will be able to save you if you do." With that the man released Alex and walked calmly out the door.

**Veracity**

**Well, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed it and I would love to hear any critiques or suggestions you have for it. **

**Next Chapter: K-Unit, Alex harassment, and the moment you've all been waiting for….the return of Yassen.**

**Please read and review, it'll help me get out of my depressive funk and back to writing!**


	3. Made to be broken

**A/N: Happy Memorial Day everyone. Thank you for all of the reviews, I really appreciate everyone who left one. I am also very happy to thank my fantabulous beta Nyxlestia. If you haven't read her stories you should immediately do so (preferably after reviewing this one). Bienviendos!**

**Veracity**

The Mess Hall was the loudest building in Brecon Beacons, between the intermittent laughter and the loud clang of silverware scraping against the plastic trays, the room was always full of commotion. However, when Alex pushed open the door an unnatural silence fell over the room, directing every eye to the young boy as he silently grabbed a tray and got his morning mush. The young assassin turned to survey the room, hunting for an empty table; none were in sight, so he resigned himself to sitting with the slightly less intimidating K-Unit.

The men had left an open space for him but ignored his presence as they went through an idle discussion of the day's activities. The tension of the group was palpable and the awkward silences were punctuated by the men stuffing the bland paste into their mouths in a desperate attempt to prevent any awkward conversation from coming up. Alex picked at the food, watching with inner amusement at the Unit's antics until he grew bored and moved to dump his tray.

"Where do you think you're going, Cub?" Snake questioned softly, his hand locked on the boy's forearm. Alex silently lifted his tray in responsive. The unit medic gave him a disapproving look at the mostly full tray but released him none the less. Alex could feel the eyes of his unit on him as he crossed the room to the trash cans and dumped the remainder of his mush into it with a dull 'plop' As he spun to return to his seat, though, he found his way blocked by a large, imposing man whose unit stood strategically around the two, blocking them from sight.

"So you're the Scorpia shit." The man sneered, giving him a once over "You weren't good enough for the SAS back when you were here so you wimped out and went to Scorpia. I can't believe they'd take a weak fucker like you." Alex broke his silence for the first time, unable to resist the opportunity to anger the SAS man

"And I can't believe the SAS would take someone as stupid and useless as you." He returned, voice barely able to be heard over the roar of the cafeteria.

"What did you say, bastard?!" the man demanded

Alex forced himself to resist the urge to make a comment about the man's intelligence but returned "I said 'I can't believe the SAS would take someone as stupid and useless as you.'"

"Why you little piece of shit!" the man growled as he lunged for the boy but Alex quickly took a side step to the left and crouched down, swiping the man's feet from under him. The man toppled and grabbed the nearest thing to steady himself, the trashcan. As he landed on the floor the heap of trash and left over mush spilled over him but before Alex could truly take in the scene a hand grabbed him roughly by the arm and drug him through the crowd.

Fox let out an exasperated sigh as they made it through the door "Cub," he sighed, releasing the boy "As much as I think Eel deserved that you don't have many friends here." He ran a hand through his hair "Look, what I'm trying to say is don't go making enemies for yourself not only does it make _your _time harder here but it makes _ours _harder too." the man finished, fixing him with a stare, Alex only nodded, knowing that it would be just another lie to add to his life.

**Veracity**

The shooting range was full when the two arrived, it seemed that the other units had gotten word that Alex would be shooting this morning and had all found some excuse to come out for the show, even a few of the Sergeants were there, staring impassively across the field.

The Sergeant of the range saw him approach and threw him a gun; Alex looked it over, carefully assessing it for any flaws, before turning back to the man.

"Reassemble it." He ordered glaring at Alex as he started his timer.

He fluidly obeyed the order and as the last piece clicked into place the man stopped the timer and gave a respectful nod down at him. Skill, apparently, was appreciated even in the SAS. "1:37."

Alex frowned lightly that was better than his time with Yassen, perhaps things were easier without the watchful eyes of his mentor assessing his every move. The Sergeant extended to him a box of rubber cartridges. He stared impassively up at the man at the insult shooting at SAS men at a gun range sounded stupid even with his desperate desire to escape.

He took the only open booth left, one that was planted squarely in the middle of the firing range. He laid down and carefully loaded it before taking aim and rattling off a few shots. Exhilaration ran through him with the sound of each shot, reminding him of the exhausting lessons he had with Yassen at the Malogosto range. He instinctively continued to shoot, fluidly reloading whenever his ammo ran out. He was dismayed to find his bullet supply exhausted and was forced to wait for the targets to be brought back in. When the last shots were fired he heard the Sergeant's cry to ceasefire and gently ticked the safety on. The squeaky system of wires was pulled back in and Alex frowned slightly at the missing center of the target that would not have satisfied Yassen's standards he vowed to work on his shooting when he returned.

He felt a presence behind him and turned to see the Sergeant staring at his target. "Looks like you've won this round, Cub. You've still got three more to go." he growled, unwilling to let a Scorpia defect beat his best trained shooters. Alex repressed a smirk at the blatant challenge.

**Veracity**

Wolf set off in a jog from the shooting range, he and the rest of K-Unit were supposed to be at the obstacle course but, much like the rest of the camp, they had gone to watch Cub shoot a round against some of the best shots in the camp and he had not disappointed. Cub had grown since the last time Wolf had seen him. After the mission at the school Wolf had grown to respect the young boy serving his nation but it was quickly destroyed when he had turned to Scorpia. To think he had _respected _the kid. The question remained though, _why_ had the boy left MI6, _why_ had he turned on his country, and most of all _why _Scorpia? Why not just leave MI6 if he was so tired of spying?

It was Eagle who pulled him from his reverie "Who knew that little double-o-nothing would be such a good shot?"

"Who knew that 'little double-o-nothing' would turn to Scorpia?" Snake snapped back.

Wolf would find out the answer to his questions. K Unit deserved to know just _why_ Cub had gone AWOL.

**Veracity**

Three rounds later found Cub putting his gun obediently back, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he saw the sharpshooter of the camp at the receiving end of one of the Sergeant's infamous tirades. He turned as he heard footsteps

"Cub?" a man queried, he was unfamiliar to Alex who nodded in response. "I'm Stag from F-Unit. We're taking you to your next exercise." The boy nodded and walked calmly away from the gun case allowing Stag to fall into step beside him, the other three men walked behind them. A tension filled the air and Alex could _feel _the glares on his back. They were heading toward the obstacle course, a hated memory for Alex. All of a sudden Stag came to a halt and Alex instinctively searched the area for any danger. Stag turned and looked apologetically over at his teammates. "I gotta stop by the admin station really quick. Do you mind?" the men shook their heads.

"Hey, I need to grab something in there too!" one of the other men said, following after the leader, leaving Alex with the two strange men.

Alex leaned against the side of the building and stared blankly into space, hoping to avoid the glares focused on him through sheer will power. After a few minutes of strained silence one of the men spoke "Hey Crow, would you mind staying here with the kid for a minute?" he queried gesturing toward the latrine. Crow shook his head and waited until the man was out of sight before turning to the boy.

"Scorpia, eh?" the man spat, eyes narrowing further.

Alex smirked at the possibility of provoking yet another SAS man he nodded smugly.

Without forewarning the man struck out landing a glancing blow on Alex's stomach as he spun out of the way. The man lunged again and Alex caught his fist, twisting it behind the soldier's back but he quickly broke free, and threw a punch following up with a kick. The kick made its mark and sent the boy into the wall with a grunt. Cub sat there for a minute letting the man think he was down for the count. Crow leered over him but Alex quickly struck out with his own kick, bringing the man to the ground beside him.

"Should have expected that from cowardly shit like _you_." The man hissed

"And attacking a 16-year-old for no reason _isn't _cowardly?" He spat in return, springing into a fighting stance. The man leapt at him, reigning blows down. Alex blocked as many as possible but he did not have the anger fueling him. He heard a door slam somewhere in the distance.

"No," Crow sneered mid punch " Hiding behind Scorpia _is_, though." He aimed a particularly vicious kick at Alex's head. He ducked straight into an uppercut to his side. He slid sideways and let the blow glance off his ribs. A dull throb promised a bruise on them tomorrow but he had no time to dwell on that as the man lashed out with yet another fist before he was suddenly pulled back by rough hands. Alex remained his stance for a few more seconds until his mind caught up, the threat was gone. He stood up straight and locked eyes with Stag over the head of Crow.

"Take him to the barracks to cool down then report back to the shooting range." He ordered and the other members of F-Unit obeyed. "Come on." he ordered to Alex, jerking his head in the general direction of the obstacle course. Silence reigned for a few minutes before the older man spoke. "I don't hold you completely responsible for that." Stag sighed and ran a hand through his dusty blond hair. "Crow has…issues…with Scorpia, much like all of us, but…his case is…different. Just…stay away from him. I don't want him hurt because he thinks of you as a punching bag for his problems. Got that?" He fixed Alex with a dark stare.

The boy nodded, knowing that _his _word was not the one that mattered in this instance.

**Veracity**

"Cub!" a voice barked as they neared the course. "You're late! Where the fuck were you?!" Sergeant demanded. Stag made no move to stand up for him and Alex said nothing either. "Why don't you just go for a little walk until you can think up a good reason why you were late!" the man barked, spittle flying into Alex's face at the words. "I think a nice run up Pen-y-Fan will loosen your lips, Rider! Now get out of my sight! You better be back here in 30 minutes or I'll make you run this course so many times your arse will be permanently implanted in the mud!"

**Veracity**

Alex ran steadily up the mountain trail his eyes focused on the crest of the hill which was only meters away. He let his lips twitch in triumph as he looked down at his watch. It had been ten minutes, he would be back early. As he approached the summit he felt the hair on his neck stand up. He stopped and immediately sunk into a fighting stance, painfully aware of the injuries he had sustained from Crow. He cast a wary glance around the woods, looking for any inconsistencies. He spotted a thicket up ahead and slowly moved towards it, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Alex," the boy immediately dropped his stance. He knew that voice. An unfamiliar face moved from the trees and he was once more on guard until he saw the cold blue eyes.

"I'm disappointed in you." The man said and Alex flinched. He had known it was coming but the reality of it hurt more than he could imagine. A silence stretched as the man let it sink in. "But the board has found a way to correct your _failure_." Alex cringed once more. "Scorpia has long needed a spy in the SAS. You will be gathering information that will allow the spy we send to infiltrate smoothly. Is that clear?" Alex nodded. "I will return in a few days for your first report."

"How will I find you?" Alex queried.

"Do not worry, Alex, I will find you." The man replied and pulled a small bag from his pocket and handed it to the boy. Alex surveyed the three, white pills that lay inside one part of his mind screamed at him to find out what they were but that side was quickly silenced. He had already disappointed Yassen how could he presume to question a decision that he made? "Take one of these every other day," the man ordered "You will thank me for it later." Alex nodded and obediently took one of the small white pills from the bag and swallowed it. Yassen nodded his approval "Good, now go back to your unit and do not disappoint me again." With that Alex turned and sprinted out of the thicket. He was determined to never again give his mentor a reason to be disappointed.

**Veracity**

A crisp knock sounded on the door "Come in." the Major bade, finishing the final sentence on the report before standing to greet the men standing before him, returning their salutes. "What do you have to report C Unit?"

The leader stepped from the men and handed a thick manila folder to the man. "We have been trailing Cub as you ordered, sir." The man nodded "There were several instances where our target engaged in altercations with SAS personnel,"

"Was he the instigator of these assaults, Elk?" The man interrupted

"No sir, while he did make some aggressive moves towards SAS personnel they were all done after being assaulted either physically or verbally by the instigator."

The Major nodded as he slowly flipped through the folder, noting the pictures and thorough documentation of each incident. "Was the tracking system fully functional?"

"Yes, sir." Elk replied.

"Good," the man said absently "Did you have anything else to report?"

"Major Grigsby, there was an incident on Pen-y-Fan."

The man snapped out of his daze "What was it, Corporal?"

"When our target reached the summit he was accosted by a man who he obviously was acquainted with. We could not get within hearing distance of the two or we might have blown our cover, however Bull was able to pick out a few key words during the exchange; those are noted in the report. The man also handed the boy a bag of pills during the meeting which the boy took with no protest. We believe that the man was associated with Scorpia and was sent to provide information to our Target."

"Who is watching Rider now?"

"E Unit, sir." Elk replied.

"Good, you are dismissed, C Unit. Good work."

"Thank you sir"he snapping a quick salute before filing from the room with the rest of his unit.

As the door shut the Major picked up the phone. "I want surveillance on Rider doubled and I want Pen-y-Fan wired so much that a bird can't fucking fart on that mountain without us knowing about it. Is that clear?" There was a note of affirmation on the other end of the phone. "Good. Now put me in touch with MI6 I want to know _everything_ there is to know about Rider, not just whatever shit they feel like telling us." He ordered gruffly, it was about time that the truth about Cub came out. There were too many blanks where that boy was concerned for his tastes. "Mr. Blunt? This Major Grigsby from Brecon Beacons, we have some information on Mr. Rider that you might find interesting, perhaps a trade is in order…."

**Veracity**

**I hope you enjoyed it. I would appreciate any reviews as a return Memorial Day present. Thank you! Don't forget to go look at Nyxlestia's stories if you haven't already!**


	4. Seeds of Doubt

**Veracity**

When Alex awoke the next morning he could feel the dull throb of the wounds he incurred yesterday. He slowly shifted to the side of the bed and let out a small gasp as the muscles under his bruise pulled the battered skin taught over his frame. He cast an assessing glance over the room only to find Snake's curious gaze focused on him. He glared at the man before roughly grabbing his jacket and turning around; he swiftly pulled it on, cringing in pain as he buttoned it up and tucked it into his standard issue pants.

He eyed his next challenge, the shoes. The combat boots sat innocently on the floor, a thick layer of mud clinging to the bottom, from the obstacle course. Sighing, Alex sat on the bed, and grabbed the shoes pulling them on before arching painfully to tie the laces.

He stood and turned to face the room. The other men were gone, yet again leaving him with a sullen Wolf. The glare the man gave him made him feel like a delinquent, and the feeling only intensified as the man walked closely behind him, much like a prison guard.

A tense silence permeated the air between the two, until Wolf finally broke it.

"Why?" he queried brusquely.

The blunt statement startled the young boy into answering, "Why what?"

"Why _them_? What could _they_ offer you that we couldn't?" Contempt filled the man's voice at the mention of Scorpia.

"That's none of your business, Wolf," Alex replied simply, only to find his way blocked by the older man

"It's my fucking business because _you_ arein _my _nit," He said gruffly.

"I'm not in your unit now, and I certainly wasn't a part of it before, so don't try and pull that shit on me," Alex hissed.

"Yes, you were. Whether or not you _think_ you are doesn't matter to me. I'm in charge of my unit and that means the welfare of its members. So I deserve a damn explanation as to why the fuck you went to _Scorpia_."

"You don't _deserve_ anything from me, Wolf. I've saved your arse more times than I can count, so don't try to pull rank on me, because I don't give a fuck about your rank," Alex said clenching his fists tightly.

The man's face was growing red with anger and a small silence stretched between the two. The older man surveyed him.

"It's because you couldn't take it, wasn't it? You couldn't fucking _handle _having to fight for your life every day like we have to, so you took the _coward's _way out and joined an organization that could protect you. Bet you felt _safe_ hiding behind Gregorovitch didn't you Cub?" the man sneered "Bet you were scared shitless when you saw us after you. Lucky for you MI6 wants you back. But I don't know _why _they want a _traitor_ like you."

Alex glared at the man, his anger urging him to fight but he just stood there. "You don't know me, Wolf,"  
he hissed "You didn't even bother to _try _to know me when I was here the _first time _with MI6. So I'm sure as hell not going to spill my fucking guts to you _now_ when I'm being _held_ here." With that he turned his back on Wolf and continued his march to the hall.

**Veracity**

Breakfast was tense at K-Unit's table, between the brooding young captive and their steaming leader the remaining members did not know what to say. They would have to wait for Cub to leave and for Wolf to cool off before they could find out what had made their leader so mad." So they sat quietly until Cub slowly stood to throw his sparsely eaten food away. Snake rose with him and followed him to the trash cans where he grabbed the boy's arm and steered him out the doors into the crisp morning air.

After a few moments Alex broke the silence. "Where are we going?" he queried, softly.

"You have a psych evaluation," Snake replied, and the boy cringed.

"Do you know how long it will be?" Alex queried and Snake frowned slightly. Cub should know that the SAS had every second of the day planned out. Usually he had a very good memory, if Wolf's tale about the school meant anything. According to Wolf he had memorized the blueprints to the building and was able to lead them in even_ after_ getting thrown off a train and into a fence. Something wasn't quite right with Cub.

"They have it scheduled until mid morning exercises." The boy sighed. "Cheer up, Cub, it won't be so bad," Snake replied, ruffling Alex's hair. The boy ducked out of his grasp, but Snake couldn't miss the cringe that crossed Alex's face as he did so. The man frowned once more. Something was wrong with this kid, and it wasn't just Scorpia. He needed to find out what was wrong with Cub. Maybe Wolf would know – he was usually privy to more information than the rest of the team.

"Won't be so bad my arse…" he mumbled, but was quickly interrupted by Snake.

"That's not the attitude to take, Cub," the man chided as they reached the med barracks. "Well, good luck. Eagle will be here to pick you back up," the unit medic informed with a smile as he heard the young boy curse under his breath. It was at times like these that Snake could almost forget that Cub was a hardened murderer.

**Veracity**

Alex set down the pencil and looked up at Dr. Hopkins. The psychiatrist's eyes had not left him since they had been introduced over an hour ago.

"Done?" he queried and Alex nodded, carefully watching as the man picked up the packet from his desk and slid it into a manila envelope. The man knocked on the door which opened with a thick buzz, he handed the folder to someone in the hallway and turned back to Alex, letting the door shut with a heavy 'slam'.

"What was that?" he queried

"A personality inventory test," Dr. Hopkins replied with a smile as he took a seat in the folder covered desk "You should have taken one to get into MI6."

Alex racked his brain but he could not remember ever taking the test before. The man made a small notation on one of the papers on his desk, his eyes never leaving Alex. Silence stretched for a few more minutes before Alex broke it "No Rorschach tests?" the boy queried dully.

"Those are out of date. We use word association tests, now." The man smiled "Would you like to take one?"

"Would it get me out of here faster?"

"I see you're just like all of the other men I see in here, as eager to see me as they are to see the dentist." He seemed to pause in thought. "I suppose so…" He trailed off and reached into one of the drawers of his desk, and pulled up a folder full of neatly stacked papers. "You have to respond what you immediately think of when you hear the word, anything you say after 5 seconds will be disregarded," he told Alex , who nodded.

"Stick," the man said plainly

"Staff."

He scribbled something down " Flower."

"Poison."

"Night."

"Cover." Alex replied.

"Friend."

"Enemy."

"Love."

"Hate."

The man frowned and Alex smirked darkly at him. "Family."

"Yassen," Alex immediately responded, unable to help himself.

"Yassen…Gregorovitch?" the man queried, and Alex nodded guardedly. "Are you related?"

"No," he said plainly, his silence covering for the looseness of his lips earlier.

"Then why do you view him as family?"

"He trained me," Alex said plainly.

"So did MI6." The man pointed out.

"But Yassen was my mentor. He spent a year of his life teaching me how to survive."

"After capturing you to do so."

"He didn't capture me. I went willingly," The boy returned.

"We have the security video, Alex. You fought him. He had to _sedate_ you to get you to go with him."

"No, he didn't. You're lying," Alex denied.

"I'm not, Alex. I can show you the tape if you want."

"No. It was pieced together by MI6, anyways," The boy scoffed.

"Why would they do that?" the man queried

"To turn me against my mentor."

"Why?"

" They want me back in their hand to be used as a pawn again." The boy stated plainly. Yassen had warned him about MI6's fervent desire to get him back. The man had told him that they would go to any lengths, even coming up with false documentation of his time with them. Once again Alex was forced to be thankful to the man for warning him.

"How did MI6 use you, Alex?" the man queried.

"They forced me to go on deadly missions with no rest in between them, they cast me off as a child after expecting me to act as an adult, they gave me little to no training, and they refused to give me a weapon to protect myself," The boy rattled off with little thought. Yassen had been constantly reminding him of MI6's wrongs.

"Yassen did the same thing, Alex," Dr. Hopkins lectured peacefully, carefully studying the boy's reaction.

"No he didn't!" the boy protested in anger, knuckles turning white as he gripped the edge of his chair.

The psychiatrist ignored this and calmly opened a thick but otherwise unremarkable folder. "According to your file you only trained with Yassen for a week before you began your missions. While on them you had to _borrow _his gun for your missions. You weren't allowed to carry one with you unless it was a mission and even then you had to be _given_ bullets to use when it came time to make the kill. At least MI6 trusted you enough to take your missions alone. You were _never _out of Yassen's sight," Dr. Hopkins recited from the boy's file. "It sounds to me like _Scorpia_ are the ones who misused you, Alex."

"That's a lie!" the boy countered automatically as his brain raced to refute the man's words but as they sunk in he could not find any evidence to the contrary other than Yassen's reassurances. His mentor wouldn't lie to him. This MI6 agent would. He felt the anger leave his veins replaced with cool unfeeling "You're with _them_ aren't you?" he accused.

The man looked taken aback. "No, I'm a civilian aide to the SAS. I told you that when we were introduced."

"Saying something doesn't make it true." Alex stated plainly

"There's no need to be paranoid, Alex. I'm here to help you," the man stated plainly.

"No. You're here to _diagnose_ me, to tell me just how fucked up I am." The boy fixed his eyes on the man. "You're supposed to convince me of how great MI6 is and how evil Scorpia is. I refuse to let you brainwash me. Yassen has done more for me than MI6 ever did. He has never forced me to do something against my will like MI6 did."

"Really, Alex? What about the assassination order on Thomas Grigsby?"

The boy cringed. That mission was his sole failure, the only blip on his record. He had killed many men – 8 senators, 2 members of parliament, and several prominent business men – but he could not kill a six year old boy. " I willingly took on that mission," he stated firmly.

"That's not true and we both know it."

Alex barely restrained a flinch. "Believe what you want."

The man sighed and closed the folder. "Alex," he fixed the boy with a stern stare "What I'm trying to prove to you is that your relationship with Yassen…it's not healthy. We have many records of him abusing you in ways that not even MI6 did. But despite that, you're still undyingly loyal to him. Alex, that's not healthy."

The boy stood resolutely his expression cold as ice "I refuse to listen to you say anything more against my mentor. Let me leave."

The man sighed and stood, knocking in a prearranged sequence against the door. As they waited for the lock to disengage the man turned to Alex "Just think about what I said, Alex. I really want what's best for you."

The boy said nothing in reply, leaving the man to stare after him in contemplative silence.

**Veracity**

Cool air coursed through the room in an attempt to defy the muggy London summer that waited outside the office. The two people in the room were staring placidly at a screen mounted onto the wall as though watching a particularly uninteresting movie.

"Agent Rider has performed at the highest level possible in both his marksmanship and agility tests," the man on the screen dictated, an equally plain office serving as his backdrop. He stood in front of his desk in well worn camouflage BDU's, his unwavering gaze staring unblinkingly at the camera.

"Has he had his combat assessment, Major Grigsby?" Alan Blunt queried, no emotions reflecting in his voice.

"No, Agent Rider will be attending that assessment at approximately 0900 hours. The exercise will not conclude until 1100 hours," the man replied, anticipating the older man's question.

"Has Agent Rider concluded his Psychological Evaluation yet, Major?" Blunt returned

"The reports arrived moments ago from Dr. Hopkins. We have already sent them to your office along with the files on Agent Rider gathered so far."

Alan nodded. "Thank you for the report, Major," he replied and shortly thereafter the screen went dark. "Tulip, will you get the files?"

The woman returned moments later with a stack of neat paper that she was idly leafing through, eyes scanning the pages for useful information. She placed a pile on his desk but continued to read through the other, letting the room lapse into silence as they digested the information.

He looked up at her "His fighting and shooting have improved exponentially which are consistent with his time under Gregorovitch."

Mrs. Jones set her stack down and looked up at the man. "Something's not right."

"What are you referring to?" The man returned.

"His attachment to the man, it's not natural." She said plainly. "When Alex left he did not like us but he certainly was not completely against us. He was loyal to his friends and colleagues, which is why he did his job. There is no conceivable situation that could have turned him against us and made him so loyal to Gregorovitch in a year. Not even torture. He has not inquired of his housekeeper or his friends since his return. That's not natural for a teen his age after being gone for so long."

"His current position is not natural for someone his age either," the man returned and she sighed.

"That's not the point, Alan, and you know it. Alex is not behaving normally, even for someone in his situation."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Scorpia have done something to Alex, they've given him _something_ to modify his behavior, a drug or-" she was cut off by the man

"A pill," he breathed in realization.

Mrs. Jones fixed him with a curious stare to which he replied by handing her a file. She skimmed it, her eyes going wide as she comprehended its contents. "Should we call Major Grigsby?"

"No," the man replied "We have Scorpia right where we want them."

**Veracity**

"Had to go the shrink, Cub?" Eagle chirped cheerfully when the boy got the waiting room.

Alex nodded dispassionately, grateful for Eagle's enthusiasm after the accusations of the therapist.

"Yeah, we all do after missions. I hate that guy. He's always trying to get us to talk about our _feelings_ and shit."

Alex couldn't help but smile as he imagined the bulky SAS man talking about how he felt.

"Sometimes they'd even make us have group sessions to help us bond. In the first one Wolf went _off _on the guy. He had to get extra sessions 'to resolve his deep seated issues' as the man put it." Alex laughed at that, unable to keep his mirth in. "He was in one of his _moods _for days. You know, the one where he acts like a girl on her time of the month." Alex knew that mood very well. In fact, he'd witnessed it this morning.

"So where are we going?" he queried as silence fell over the two.

"You've got combat practice," the man replied.

Alex groaned. Karma, it seemed, had a vendetta against him.

**Veracity**


	5. Machinations Revealed

**AN: Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry for the long time between updates but college has been kicking my butt. So, until my GPA's stable again updates will be hit or miss. Credit once again goes to my fabulous beta Nyxelestia who has graciously read through my terrible grammar and has fixed several mistakes that I've made throughout the story which I will be going back into previous chapters to change. She really is quite wonderful. **

**Please read and review!**

**Veracity**

Bright lights shone down on padded floors, revealing every crack and crevice in them from years of wear and tear by the SAS. The combat room of Brecon Beacons was situated in a large warehouse. A Union Jack hung from the exposed rafters, a reminder to the men why they were here. To Alex, it was a reminder of his captivity.

In the middle of the floor, three men stood, their features cast into shadow by the harsh lights. But as he walked closer he could clearly see that he would be facing K-Unit. Eagle moved from behind him and joined the group.

"Cub," Wolf's voice was gruff. "The Brass want you to show us your skills so we can pin your level for training."

Alex nodded. He didn't particularly feel like talking to Wolf after their confrontation this morning.

"You'll be fighting the four of us," the man continued, as the soldiers spread out, sinking slowly into their stances. "Whenever you're ready."

Alex locked eyes with the man, but he lashed out at Eagle instead. The soldier stumbled back, receiving a glancing blow from the kick. Alex followed through by throwing a fake punch covering a kick. Eagle folded under the assault and Alex turned to face the remainder of the men.

He sunk into his stance, waiting for one of the others to make a move. Finally, Snake moved forwards and threw a kick at the boy. Alex dodged underneath it and returned with a punch to the man's chest before sweeping his legs from underneath him.

As he stood, Fox lunged at him and Alex quickly brought up an arm to block the blow. He was quickly forced to repeat it as the man threw yet another hit. Alex was grazed by a kick as the man struck once again with a punch. The boy threw his own at the man, hitting him square in the jaw and followed by kicking the man firmly in the chest bringing him to the floor.

He turned to his final opponent. Wolf stood a few meters away from him, surveying him with a wary eye. "You're good, Cub," the man complimented.

"My mentor taught me." At that, Wolf's eyes iced over.

The man lunged forward without warning, throwing a punch towards the boy's temple. Alex spun out of the way and attempted a front heel kick, but Wolf had already moved. Alex was forced to dodge an onslaught of punches bringing him back against one of the warehouse walls. As he hit the mat he hurriedly ducked a fist aimed at his jaw only to spin into a side kick. Alex crumpled to the floor, grasping his already bruised ribs. Wolf had, apparently, had noticed that he had been favoring his left side. He heard soft footsteps as the other men approached.

"Good fight Cub," Fox acknowledged, but Alex said nothing .He couldn't say anything through the white hot pain that coursed through his side.

"Cub….Alex, are you okay?" Snake queried as he knelt at the boy side and attempted to move his hands away from his injured side.

Alex forced himself to his feet, using the wall as a support. "I'm fine," he finally hissed.

"No, you're not. We need to go the med barracks," He began

"No." the boy replied coolly. "I'm fine," he said firmly and began the slow limp to the door.

The four men quickly followed, throwing uneasy looks at each other. What was Cub hiding?

**Veracity**

Yassen glared down at the vibrating mobile phone in his palm. He hated the device, not because of the technology but because of what it stood for. It served as his leash, a way for the higher ups to keep track of him. To keep him from doing the one thing he wanted to do more than anything else right now: rescue Alex.

They had not had time to modify the drug since he was captured and the chances were that it would work just as well for MI6 now as it had for him. They had to get him out soon.

But for right now he had to follow orders.

He reluctantly opened the phone "Yes?" There was no need for introductions.

"Gregorovitch, how did your…talk…with the boy go?"

" Well," he replied simply.

"Then he is aware of his mission?" How Yassen hated this man.

"Yes."

"Scorpia would like for you to receive his first report tomorrow."

Yassen grunted in acknowledgement. That was earlier than he had thought they would act.

"How is he holding up?"

"Well, for now. It will not be long though," he began but the man cut him off.

"Yes, Gregorovitch. We all know of the possibility of losing your apprentice."

"Then you are prepared to accept the consequences?"

"I'm afraid we have no choice. At least, not until we get the information we need. Surely, your ward is strong enough to last that long." The man was mocking him.

" My ward _is_. Your drugs _are not_," the assassin returned shortly.

"Calm yourself, Yassen. We are making another special batch for him. All he has to do is make it through another week before it's shipped in from Columbia."

Yassen sighed. He didn't know if they had that long. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

The assassin snapped the phone shut, but his thoughts did not stray from his ward. He would bring the boy back on his own if need be, but he refused to lose Alex Rider.

**Veracity**

Alex gratefully laid down on his bed, the water from his shower still clinging to his hair. He was grateful for the chance to get off his feet after a physically demanding day.

The remainder of the day had been spent under the watchful eyes of K-Unit. A return to the shooting range, another run over the obstacle course, and a hike had made sure that the boy had little time to rest. The pain from Wolf's kick had faded slightly but a sharp twinge from one spot reminded him that he might have fractured a rib.

He felt eyes on him and slowly sat up, forcing himself to ignore the pain from the wound. The four other men were staring intently at him "What?"

"I asked if you were okay. You looked like you were really hurt after the…you know," Wolf queried.

Alex was surprised by the level of genuine caring in the man's eyes. This was the same man who had called him too cowardly to stay in MI6, who had said that he couldn't handle the threat on his life every day. He pushed the small pocket of anger down. If Wolf was willing to be civil, then he would attempt it as well. "Yes, Wolf, I'm fine."

Snake piped up. "Cub, if you're injured, I really need to know. We don't want you hurt."

The teen had to stifle a snort. "Okay."

The man didn't look please by the lack of affirmation but did not press it.

"So…Cub," Eagle began, and Alex almost pitied them. Almost. They were trying way too hard for a conversation that wasn't going to happen. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Do you have _any_ friends?" he heard Wolf murmur under his breath.

Alex chose to ignore that.

"What have you been _doing_ since you first came here then?" Eagle whined.

Alex was slightly taken aback at the blunt statement. "I went on missions."

"For Scorpia?" Wolf returned heatedly.

"Yes, and MI6," Alex replied.

"Wait, you worked for MI6?" Fox queried.

"Yeah, for a little bit. Didn't they tell you _why_ they wanted me?" Surely the men knew that he had worked for MI6?

"They said you were a rogue agent but," he blushed slightly "we didn't really believe them."

"Why not?"

Fox looked hesitant and Snake stepped in for the man "We thought you were a joke. The kid of some brass who thought that nothing was too good for his son. We thought they put you with us to get us all binned."

Alex turned to Wolf. "You saw me on Point Blank."

"Where?"

"The school." Alex replied.

"Yeah. So?" the man queried and the teen repressed a sigh.

"Did you think it was coincidence that I was there? That Mrs. Jones was in my hospital room?"

The man sighed "I didn't know what to think. I knew, in the back of my mind that you were involved in a major way. But, I didn't want to think about what it meant for fourteen year old _boy _to be working as a government _spy_. That's just fucked up."

Alex nodded "I'm glad you agree. Yassen saved me from that."

Wolf's brown eyes bore into him "Saved you? The man practically signed your death warrant!"

"How?"

"He turned you into a _killer_, Cub, for the _wrong side_. Every intelligence agency in the world has a price over your head, now."

"The wrong side?" Alex mocked "What kind of world are you living in, Wolf? You've killed just as many people as I have. In this world there is no 'wrong' or 'right', it's just a job, and Scorpia at least gave me the tools and support to do my job, and to do it well. I can't say the same for MI6. They sent me on missions with nothing to protect me. Scopria protected me, Scopria cared about me, MI6 was ready to exterminate me almost as soon as I walked in the door."

Wolf narrowed his eyes "Don't you fucking dare compare me to _them_! _They_ kill innocent men, women, and children just because someone'll give them money. I kill people to protect bastards like you! Did you even know what the people you killed did? Or did you just do it because _Daddy_ told you to?"

The man stood up. "You're a fucking disgrace. If I had known you were going to turn out like this, I would have done the world a favor and let that bitch at the school kill you! Fuck, I would kill you right now if MI6 wouldn't get me back for it!"

He walked towards the door, fists balled tight. He turned around to face the brooding teen, and opened his mouth to say something else, but shook his head. "You're not even worth my fucking time." With that he left the barracks, loudly slamming the door after him.

**Veracity**

The night had been rough for Alex. Between the stony silence of the room and the dull ache that clung to his side, sleep was virtually nonexistent. He was almost relieved when the reveille sounded at midnight.

The five occupants immediately sprung from their beds at the call and hurriedly got dressed. The room remained silent, save for the rustle of fabric, and after the outburst earlier, no words could bridge the tense quiet. They rushed out to the parade grounds and joined the rows of uniformed men. The sergeant stood resolutely in front of them, waiting for the stragglers to join the group.

"Attention!" he called as the block finally filled. "You will be going on a nice little swim, tonight, ladies, down the Afon Pyrrdin and back." The man called "And lord help you if everyone of your sorry arses aren't back here within the hour." He pushed a button on his watch and looked down at them "Fall out!" he called and suddenly the square was flurry of action as the soldiers hurriedly stripped off their jackets and shirts whilst running towards the river.

Alex took a seat as he reached the bank, hurriedly unlacing his boots and laying them next to his other clothes. He stood and plunged into the freezing water, not giving himself time to adjust as he swam relentlessly against the current, his aching side throbbing at every stroke. This was going to be a long night.

Alex arrived on shore just after his own unit. He was amazed that he had been able to keep up with them, but then they had probably been told to stay near. He found his pile of clothes under the recently erected floodlights near to the rest of K Unit. Wolf was still pointedly ignoring him as he laced his boots but the remainder of his unit had their eyes fixed on a specific spot on his chest.

He groaned as he heard the gasp from Fox and saw Snake approaching.

"Cub," the man said as he trailed his fingers carefully over the damaged skin. "This is serious." The medic fixed his glare on him but let his eyes sink back to the wound. "There's no way that this trauma came from Wolf."

Alex averted his eyes and stepped away, hurriedly pulling his shirt on. The gaze of the medic did not leave him as he dressed, nor even as they returned to the barracks after checking in. He knew the man wanted to talk to him about it. He knew that after seeing it Snake would not let it go. But he did not want the men to see that he was weak.

Yassen would have told him that he deserved it for letting his guard down. Yassen would be disappointed if Alex let it affect his performance. So Alex would bear through it, just as he always did.

**Veracity**

Wolf knocked firmly on the door. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. It's not every day that you get called into Major Grigsby's office. Had he been reported for his outburst earlier? A small part of him felt guilty for yelling at the kid. He knew something was up with Cub, but the kid's attitude was really getting on his nerves.

"Come in," the man called. Wolf strode into the room and struck a salute that the man returned. "At ease, Sergeant." The soldier loosened his stance. "Are you aware of why I called you here today?"

"No, sir."

"I thought not. There have been reports regarding your behavior towards Agent Rider," That's what he had been dreading. "I will not be taking formal action against you. I am only warning you."

"Thank you, sir."

"You better be thankful," The man growled. "I heard about what you said to the boy. You don't know anything about him, which seems like a fucking stupid way of formulating an opinion about someone. Don't you agree, Lieutenant?"

This was not going well "Yes, sir."

"Now, then…Cub is a soldier, just like you, whether you want to believe it or not. He's been through some pretty tough shit. I'll be the first to say it: the kid's fucked up. Which is why I don't need soldiers like you, that he's supposed to trust, telling him that you want to shoot him. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'm going to cut the bullshit, Sergeant. I know you and your men want to know why the hell we're _training_ a fucking assassin, well so do I. MI6 says it's because they want to know where he's at and what they're up against in their fight against those little shits at Scorpia. That's a bunch of bull if you ask me. Agent Rider may be here to be tested and his presence here may help them with figuring out Scorpia but the real reason the kid's here is to lure that Gregorovitch bastard in." the Major allowed that to sink in " I better not hear a fucking word of that breathed in this camp. We're supposed to be working together with MI6 in a show of good faith, which is a bunch of bull, but those are my orders. The reason I'm telling you that is so you can get a good scope of where you lie in this pile of shit and so you and your men won't get killed when it hits the fan. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

"Good." The Major reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a large file. He dropped it firmly on the table, and Wolf tensed slightly. "Do you know what this is, soldier?"

"No, sir."

"This is Cub's file. I'm entrusting you the contents of it in good faith. Do not abuse the knowledge you get from it." The man picked up the weighty file and seemed to look it over before handing it to the soldier. "You'll understand the kid better when you read through that. You're also authorized to show the other members of your unit the contents."

"Thank you, sir" Wolf replied looking pensively down at the folder. "Permission to speak sir?" the older man nodded "If it is not too bold, sir, why are you so interested in Cub?"

Major Grigsby seemed to look him over "The kid saved my son." A silence enveloped the room "You are dismissed, Lieutenant." Wolf snapped a final salute before leaving the room.

**Veracity**

**AN: Please review! I could really use the encouragement and it might make me update faster. I hope that doesn't make me sound like a sell out author. Nevermind just review whatever you feel, if you love it or you hate it please tell me why. Thanks!**


	6. Coming Unraveled

**AN: Happy new year, everyone! Sorry for the delay everyone! I was having a little too much fun at college (nerf gun wars, water balloon fights, and pranking my (wonderful) roommate, to name a few). In that time I seem to have delayed writing and have been thoroughly chastised for it by my friends who read fanfics. Once again, I apologize for the delay.**

**On a side note I would also like to apologize to my lovely beta who I have not had time to get back to. If you're out there Nyxie I plead for mercy and humbly request your return as my beta.**

**Please Read and Review, I really appreciate any input (or insults) that you may have!  
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An uneasy sleep had fallen over the SAS men, the knowledge that they would only get a few hours of rest kept them in the tedious place of half-sleep. Alex laid on his cot his tired eyelids begging closure but every time he obeyed he was met with images of some of the people he had killed, their bodies broken and bloodied. His mind went back to Wolf's words he had never asked why he killed the people he did, it was always easier just to pretend that he was just returning the favor. Now he was second guessing himself, something that he could not afford.

No, he had to stay strong for now, maybe, when he got out, he would ask Yassen about it. He closed his eyes again, hoping that the creed would have vanished the reproaching, soulless stares of his victims. But they came back with a renewed force. "Fuck!" he whispered and jumped out of bed, sleep was not going to come any time soon. Casting a cautious eye around the barracks he ensured that he had not disturbed K Unit before walking silently from the room in hopes of a cold shower.

As he moved into the building he instinctually felt a presence but steadfastly ignored it, instead choosing to bend over the sink hands grasping the porcelain in a choke hold. He heard a door to one of the stalls creak and looked up into the mirror to see Crow standing behind him. "Guilt finally getting to you, bastard?"

"Crow," Alex greeted calmly, muscles tensing in preparation. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and slug the man right in the jaw but venting his frustrations would do nothing except get him at best punished by the camp sergeant, at worst thrown into a tiny MI6 cell to rot away the rest of his relatively short life.

The man approached him "Listen here, you little shit, it fucking pisses me off that a murderer like you gets to strut around this fucking camp like you own the place. You should have been shot the day you were born like the fucking piece of shit you are! You're probably good buddies with bastards that killed my brother. I bet you had a fucking good time laughing about how they killed a 16 year old boy! Bet you laughed your fucking ass off when they told you about how he screamed for his mother before they kicked his head so hard that pieces of his brain splattered on the sidewalk! Did you, you little fucker?!"

The man threw a punch at Alex who was too stunned by the man's confession to completely dodge. It glanced off the side of his head and Alex was forced to grab the man's other fist as he swung again. He twisted it behind the man's back until he heard a satisfying snap and a howl of pain and rage came from the soldier. The man kicked back at Alex forcing him to release the injured wrist. The man rushed forward again, throwing another punch which was quickly blocked but Alex did not expect the man to kick out his legs from underneath him. His head hit the edge of the sink with a sickening crack before falling to the floor as his vision darkened.

Crow was on him before he could even attempt to get up, his beefy hands wrapped tightly around Alex's neck. The teen spluttered for air but the mad glint in the man's eye promised death.  
"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to watch you fucking die just like you watched my brother! Maybe I'll even let you scream for your mommy too? Or will you cry for Scorpia? Bet they'll be happy to get rid of a weakling piece of shit like you!" the man spit into his face and Alex felt a rage build up in him. He lashed out striking the man's knee cap with a crushing blow. A scream was wrenched from his throat and the man fell back to cradle the injured appendage. Alex took the time to pull himself towards the opposite wall attempting to control his panting breaths.

The door to the latrines burst open and three men rushed in two going towards their injured teammate the other marching over to Alex's position.

"Kid. You okay?" It was Stag but Alex couldn't focus on the man, whether from the adrenaline coursing through his veins or the blow to the head he couldn't tell. The man crouched down next to him and traced his hands over his already aching neck. "That's going to bruise," the man mused "Where's the blood from?" he queried pointing the thick red smear on the floor.

Alex reached a hand behind his head to the source of the pounding pain he winced as he touched the injured skin and pulled it back to find it soaked with blood.

"Come on, kid. We need to get you to med barracks. Ox, Ram, is Crow okay?"

"He's got a fractured wrist and a shattered knee cap but other than that he'll be fine."

Stag nodded as he helped Alex to his feet, "Report to medical barracks as soon as possible we'll need to file an after action report."

With that the two left the latrines. The trip to the barracks was silent until Stag spoke up as the building came into sight "I'm sorry." The man stated and Alex slowly swung to face a look of curiosity flashing across his face.

"Why?"

"I'm the unit leader I'm supposed to know everything about my squad mates. If I had realized just how fucked up Crow was I would have kept a better eye on him."

Alex just nodded he didn't know what to say to the man and so they reached the doors with not another word said between them.

As soon as they entered the sterile room, Alex found himself being shoved down onto a bed as a few nurses scattered to grab the necessary gauze and salves to treat the fresh wounds. He barely noticed when Crow was lead in a few minutes later looking murderous. His testosterone slowed and combined with his lack of sleep brought him down onto the bed.

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"What did the results show?" a crisp voice asked and the SAS Major repressed a sigh. He hated dealing with the stiffs at MI6.

"Agent Rider has a minor concussion and bruising from the altercation this morning. There was also evidence of a previous altercation between the two marked by the severe bruising on both Sgt. Mayfield and Agent Rider." Major Grigsby paused and pulled a thick folder in front of him. "The tox screen showed traces of cocaine and lorazepam. We have matched these to the drugs found in Cub's possession that we believe were distributed to him by his Scorpia contact." The man set the folder back down.

"Interesting," Blunt mused, steepling his fingers as he reclined slightly in his chair.

"I would appreciate any information on Agent Rider's condition and how it will affect his performance during his continued stay here." Major Grigsby bit out.

"Of course, Major Grigsby," Mrs. Jones began "Based on the information you have provided we can assume that Agent Rider has ingested several doses of these drugs during his training under Gregorovitch. Without further study we can presume that the purpose of the drug was to keep Agent Rider under Scorpia's control and make him more pliable to their demands. His assessment while at Brecon Beacons will not be affected inversely by these drugs. That is the only information that I can offer without further study of the exact amounts of the two ingredients."

They were hiding something that much was obvious. Major Grigsby narrowed his eyes "When can I expect a full report on the substance, Deputy Jones?" he queried.

"Once we receive the drug and have the proper time to examine it I will be sure to give you the results, Major." With that the communication terminated.

The man spun away from the screen and pushed a button on his desk. His secretary hurried into the room and snapped a quick salute.

" Give this file to Dr. Hopkins. I want information on these drugs on my desk at 1200 hours is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." The man returned and hurried from the room.

Rider was proving to be more of a puzzle than he had expected.

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I hope you enjoyed it and I respectfully request that you review, please. I really appreciate any input that you have especially on things that you would like to see or see fixed in the story!  
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	7. The Now Irrelevant Authors Note

**This was an Author's Note saying that I was going to stop writing in the story. However, like any good author I've changed my mind so please continue reading and enjoy. I've kept this in here so the good people who reviewed this chapter have an opportunity to properly critique the next one. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.**


	8. Falling Apart

**AN: Alright, so maybe I lied (ironic with the title of the story). After copious amounts of badgering by the residents on my floor (damn freshmen) I read back over this thing and actually…it isn't too shabby. It's by no means perfect but I'll give it another go. **

**Regular updates are not promised by any means. I have a whole floor of freshmen to supervise (God bless my soul) and the LSAT but I'm going to try really, really hard to finish this thing. Sorry, for the psych out. Still not sure about Jaded or Veracity, they were meant to be one shots but if inspiration magically strikes me I may take a look at them too. **

**On with the story, as usual I do not own any part of the Alex Rider Series and please read and review encouragement is always nice.**

**Veracity**

Poker was a popular way to pass downtime at Brecon Beacons, a pack of cards and a flat surface weren't too much to ask for in a military base. Being stuck in the barracks was almost a guarantee of at least one game; K Unit was currently on their eighth. Ever since they had found out about the incident with Cub and relieved of their training rotation for the day the 3 men had been tasked with occupying themselves until they were released to go see their injured member, so far it was proving only moderately successful.

Snake cast a wary look at Wolf who had spent the past 3 hours poring over a thick, official looking file. The way the man was tearing through the pages made him almost think he was reading an epic thriller, even Eagle had been unsuccessful at getting the man away from it, earning him a firm punch on the arm instead. It was clear that something had changed from last night's blow up, and his instincts told him it had something to do with Wolf's mysterious summons to the admin barracks after the midnight exercise and his return with the file. It was high time for the unit leader to own up to what was going on.

"Snake, you in?" Eagle queried from across the table.

"Nah, I fold" he tossed his cards to the table and stood moving over to where Wolf sat.

"Anything interesting?" he only received a grunt back, a sign that Wolf was in full concentration.

Scanning the page he knit his eyebrows "Cub's file?" he snatched the folder from Wolf's hands and quickly began reading through the page before it was grabbed again by a curious Fox.

"Damn," the man said, hurriedly reading through the specs at the top of the page. He let out a low whistle "No wonder Sarge was in such a sour mood on the range this week, little brat beat Moore hands down."

"Damn it, Fox, give me the folder!" Wolf demanded reaching to take it but the young soldier spun out of the way.

"So that's what you've been going through over there, no wonder. Any reason you didn't want to share with the class?" Eagle mocked.

"Yes, Wolf," Snake turned, fixing the man with a sharp gaze "Any reason?"

The man grumbled something under his breath before replying "I was going to after I got all the facts straight."

"I'm sure," Snake sneered, plucking the file from Fox and handing it to Wolf. "I think we'd all like to know a little more about our favorite…agent."

"Where do you want me to start" Wolf queried, once again sitting on the bed.

The three soldiers sat on the bed across from Wolf, fixing him with intent stares "From the beginning."

**Veracity**

A knock came at the major's door, causing him to look up from the mountains of paperwork stacked neatly on his desk.

"Come in," Major Grigsby barked, casting a casual glance over at the clock, the man was a few minutes late but he was still more reliable than the bastards over at MI6. The flustered psychiatrist rushed into the room, carrying a hastily put together manila file.

"Sorry I'm late, Major, I had to run off to..." He began but was quickly interrupted.

"Save it, Hopkins, I'm not looking for excuses, just results. What can you tell me about Rider?"

The man strode forward and handed him the file, "Do you know much about either drug?"

"Why do you think I asked you to look it up, Hopkins?"

"Right, sorry, sir." The therapist sighed again "I'll start with Lorazepam then; it's commonly used to sedate hostile and aggressive patients in hospitals and psych wards. In this instance not only did it prevent Alex from escaping due to its sedatives but also kept him from feeling many strong emotions. While that's good and all I feel that Lorazepam was specifically used for the amnesic effects it has on patients when coupled with improper dosage and other medications, such as cocaine. The reason I believe that Alex didn't believe me about his switch over to Scorpia is that he honestly doesn't remember it. All he knows is what Gregorovitch told him."

The major stared silently at the man for a moment, taking in the information "So we take him off the drug how long will it take him to remember it?"

"I'm not a doctor, Major, however, all my research indicates that, with the over usage of the drug that Alex experienced, it will probably take over 6 months for him to recover his memory of the events of the initial month of his capture."

"Alright, how about the cocaine?"

"Well, sir, cocaine is traditionally a recreational drug. Used in this context it more serves to act as an agent of addiction for Alex to keep him with Scorpia. He may not fully comprehend it but I think his subconscious may register that as the provider for his addiction he…owes Gregorovitch some degree of loyalty. With the amount of time spent together I have no doubt that Yassen himself has forged that belief even deeper within Alex, contributing to his emphatic worship of the man." Hopkins finished and turned once again to the man.

"Okay so what we've got here is a pill that almost guarantees an obedient and loyal soldier if consumed in large enough quantities. Am I correct, Hopkins?"

"Yes, sir,"

"Maybe I should get some of those." The man mused sardonically, smirking at the audible gasp from Dr. Hopkins "Calm down, Hopkins, and learn to take a joke."

"Yes, sir."

"Very good, thank you for the report, doctor and be sure this file gets seen by the med staff." It was a clear dismissal and Dr. Hopkins obediently left the room.

"Meanwhile, I have some phone calls to make."

**Veracity**

Wolf couldn't mistake the significant look given to him by the nurse as she reluctantly let him into the room. Though, he supposed the yelling at the receptionist in the foyer hadn't helped. Cub may still be unconscious but that didn't mean he didn't want to visit the kid all the same. He took a seat in the empty chair, and locked eyes on the teen's heavily bandaged head. He winced, that one was going to hurt for a while, but in comparison to some of the other injuries the kid had received it wasn't that bad.

That file had done more than tell him about the kid's missions, it had opened his eyes. All the looks, behaviors, words they exchanged suddenly came into focus. Cub wasn't a sell out; he hadn't left for shits and giggles despite what the boy believed. There were countless frames of security cameras, pictures from other agents, and high res satellite images showing the boy's valiant struggles against Gregorovitch until the drugs set in.

The drugs were the most disturbing revelation in the file. Especially when it bled over to him receiving drugs even while here. Not only had Scorpia known where the boy was, they had gotten onto fully armed military training grounds. He now understood Major Grigsby's paranoia. MI6 was using Alex as bait to catch Gregorovitch and, his men and the other soldiers here would just be written off as a necessary expense to capture the assassin.

He buried his head in his hands, smoothing back his hair. Damn it when did life get so difficult? It had been so much easier when he could just hate the kid for trying to get him binned, for defecting to the enemy, anything but actually caring about someone who everyone viewed as a traitor. The heart monitor began to speed and Wolf looked up to see the young teen looking at him with sunken, desperate eyes.

"Wolf," he wheezed, throat raspy from dehydration.

"How're you feeling, Cub?"

"I've felt better" he responded wryly then the look on his face melted to one of uncertainty, he fiddled with his hands in his lap. His response was slow, as if testing every word before saying it, "Wolf, I know you don't like me...but, I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it Cub?" his tone was softer than he wanted it to sound

"I need my backpack, it's in the barracks."

"Why? You don't have any personal belongings in there." It was harsh but he knew exactly what the Cub wanted and it was the one thing he couldn't give him.

"Dammit, Wolf, I just need it okay?" the boy snarled trying to force himself up but his trembling limbs made him fall back to the bed.

Taking a calming breath the man locked eyes with the teen "Cub…Alex, we know about the drugs. They've been confiscated. We're going to help you get off them and away from Gregorovitch."

The boy seemed to fill with rage as he realized what the man had said, he fisted his quaking hands and glared up at Wolf, the heart rate monitor sped as the boy's breathing became harsher until the room erupted in the noise of Alex's pain filled scream, the dangerous beeping of the monitor and the scramble of footsteps bursting into the room.

"He's seizing!" a nurse cried bringing more doctors into the room.

"Get him out of here!" a doctor barked and another nurse pulled the man from the room, shutting the door behind him.

The nurse turned on him, crossing her arms.

"What the hell is happening in there?" Wolf demanded of her.

"He's going through withdrawals, soldier. High emotions trigger the symptoms sooner." The woman snapped.

"Fuck," was all the man could say before he was unceremoniously ushered out of the med barracks.

**Veracity**

The camp had been quiet since Yassen had begun his vigil, waiting for a moment when he could isolate his ward. But as the day drew on it was quickly becoming obvious that something had happened to Alex, not that he feared discovery, it was well known that Alex was with Scorpia. No, either they had found out about his meeting with the boy or Alex had been injured. The fights he had seen the boy engaged in seemed to indicate that may be the case, though there had been monitoring equipment strewn through the forest.

Scowling, the man paused in thought, either way he wouldn't be able to get access to Alex for at least a few days, if ever, unaccompanied and those drugs would only last so long. Yassen ran his hands through his hair as he again looked out at the camp. He was beginning to think that it was time to weigh his options.

He could break with Scorpia, recapture Alex, and wean the teen off the drugs himself. Or, he could follow Scorpia's orders; hope to get to the child sometime to get information and risk losing him. It didn't take much to consider which one meant more to him.

If he took Alex back they would be chased by everyone, never safe, not that they were safe to begin with but he _knew_ how far the various government agencies were willing to go, Scorpia would spend any and all resources they could to kill or capture the two. The question was, if Alex was worth that much to him.

The answer was, and always would be yes. He had come this far.

With his mind made up the assassin descended the pine, If Alex did not emerge from isolation sometime tomorrow he was going in after him, they had been apart too long.

**Veracity**

**I hope you enjoyed it, I know it doesn't have a lot of action but I promise there will be later.**

**Please Read and Review I appreciate any feedback I get!**


	9. A Turning Point

**Here we go again! Things got a little crazy there with Graduation and Law School applications. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this so far. I know the random updates are not ideal but I am committed to finishing this thing for all of you. Thanks especially to those who PM'ed me and reviewed recently. After my hiatus it was encouraging to come back to such positive feedback. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it! **

**My commitment to the readers: I will finish Veracity. I owe all of you that for reading and supporting this story. If you take issue with anything I have written please do not hesitate to PM me and let me know your issue so that I can fix the story and make these last chapters as enjoyable as possible.**

**Veracity **

The third night patrol passed less than a meter in front of Yassen's camouflaged form. Tucked into the underbrush Yassen had approached his position earlier in the day, cautious not to trigger the notice of the monitoring system spread through the woods. However, the irregularities in patrols left him with an uneasy feeling that he had been discovered. The patrols traditionally occurred once an hour by one unit. So far Yassen had seen 3 on this side of the camp and could only guess how many were stationed throughout the woods near Pen y Fan, the easiest approach to the camp. Tension hung thick over the area making it obvious that the soldiers had been prepared for a possible attack tonight. He had seen numerous sentries reflexively finger their triggers whenever an animal rustled. The two standing at the entrance to the med barracks seemed to be particularly affected.

Alex must be there; the man mused and took a stilling breath. Everything in his body screamed that something was not right, that he should abort this and return to Scorpia for back up. But he wanted Alex back by his side and unfortunately that came with a high price. He brushed aside his feelings and cautiously lifted his gun from beneath the brush.

With two muffled pops the men guarding the med barracks collapsed. Yassen shrugged off his camo began his sprint across the open field to the doors, keeping low to the ground to avoid detection as much as possible. Cracks of gun fire trailed after him and he leapt for cover behind the wall of the med wing catching his breath as he hurriedly loaded his rifle again. Distantly he could hear the sound of gunfire, but shook it off; he needed to identify the location of the shooter targeting him. He pulled a black face mask from his pocket and dangled it close the edge of the hut. Another round of gun fire exploded, shredding the fabric.

'Sniper' he mused, only they would be able to see the dark fabric in this light.

Yassen paused, counting the shots under his breath before rolling out from behind the wall and taking aim at the Sniper's nest. Firing a few rounds he heard a muffled yelp and the sound of crashing branches. Taking this as a good sign he shouldered his rifle and grabbed his pistols before planting a solid kick to the door of the med barracks. Stepping dispassionately on the splintered wood he allowed his instincts to take over and threw himself behind the receptionist desk as a hail of bullets rained onto his previous position. He waited until the volley stopped, careful not to make any noise before raising his arm and firing blindly towards the area where the gunfire had come from.

Shattering glass and splintering wood meant he had missed his mark. But it also gave him an opportunity to find out how many soldiers he was up again. Gun fire once again exploded from that side of the room, slamming into the area of the desk where his hand had been and raining shards from the mirror over the desk down on him. The shots came at sporadic intervals meaning that there was probably only one unit stationed on the other side and since no reinforcements had responded to the gunshots they must be the only ones in the building. Which meant that Alex was not here.

Yassen's eyes narrowed in displeasure and he quickly snatched a shard of mirror and once again began shooting toward the unit. He held the mirror piece up and angled it to see that the men were taking cover behind a metal gurney flipped on its side. Smirking Yassen lowered the mirrored piece as his first pistol ran out of ammunition, clipping it back into his belt he seamlessly switched to the other pistol to his hand. He stood swiftly moving to the opposite wall, careful not to step on any debris and give away his location.

Yassen watched in grim amusement as 2 heads barely appeared over edge of the gurney. With two shots they were gone, replaced by twin sprays of blood against the white, cement walls. He kept firing at the gurney, the metal finally giving way to his bullets. One of the injured men rolled out from behind the gurney first, firing at Yassen as he dived for cover behind some nearby couches.

The assassin quickly moved out of the line of fire, taking refuge behind a filing cabinet. The stream of bullets kept steady which could mean only one thing. Cover fire. When the bullets stopped Yassen rolled back out from behind the cabinet to face the Unit standing around his position, guns trained on him.

"Drop your weapon!" one of the men barked.

Yassen placidly set the gun on the floor and held his hands aloft. The men quickly moved in, kicking the gun away from the man.

"Against the wall!"

Yassen obeyed, planting his hands firmly against the wall and waiting for the inevitable. A few seconds passed as the Unit signaled to each other on how to apprehend the assassin. Finally one of the men approached his right side, placing his gun at the base of Yassen's skull and reaching up to pull the man's hand behind his back.

The assassin took the opportunity to break the man's hold and swiftly spin the soldier against his chest. With a wet pop the man's neck was snapped and the assassin threw the body towards the stunned team, using the distraction to disarm the soldier closest to him with a punch to his kidney. Hooking an arm around the winded man he spun the disabled soldier in front of him as the other two opened fire. The body sagged onto Yassen's chest and the assassin swiftly grabbed the soldier's pistol and placed two shots into the nearest soldier's torso, the blood splatter coated his friend and in his shock Yassen put a swift bullet in the man's leg. The soldier collapsed to the ground and feebly raised the gun at the assassin and with another bullet to the arm he collapsed to the ground. Yassen calmly kicked the gun from the man's hand and knelt down, pulling the moaning man up by his BDUs to face him.

He needed information if he was going to find Alex. Hopefully this soldier would be willing to cooperate and provide him with it.

"Ple…please don't kill me." The man begged.

"Where is he?" Yassen sneered.

"They…they took him to the Major's quarters." The man stuttered, flinching when the assassin's eyes narrowed and he looked to the man's lapel.

"Why should I believe you…Crow?"

"I swear, I swear he is! They told us that Scorpia would be invading tonight so they moved him!"

"They knew Scopria was attacking tonight?"

"Ye..yes sir, one of their scouts showed up on one of our cameras this afternoon. We tracked their movements after that."

Yassen's mouth thinned, that was disheartening. He had resolved to end his and Alex's dangerous connection with the terror group. Their appearance now was….inconvenient, even if it did draw fire away from him.

"How many units are with the boy?"

"There's 2 Units posted there to guard him!"

"Is K Unit posted with him?"

"Ye…yeah, wanted to stay close with the brat, Major's there too! I swear on my life that's the truth, now don't kill me!

Yassen searched his eyes to gauge sincerity then he unceremoniously dropped the man and stood. "I don't trust a coward." He sneered and raised his gun again. The man's scream was cut short by a curt gunshot.

"F Unit has not signaled back that engagement has ended." Eagle reported formerly.

"Sniper Unit X?"

"Nothing, sir, that entire side of camp has gone silent."

The Major leaned back in his chair, contemplating the situation. F unit had been sent to fortify the med barracks but when fighting had broken out on the other side of camp they had been left with sentries and Sniper X as a last line of defense. Obviously Scorpia had planned a 2 pronged assault, however, none of his sensors showed any sign of movement in the woods on that side of the camp.

"Let's hope they've been able to engage the enemy long enough for back up to arrive. Have the rest of the Units reported?"

"Yes, sir, we briefly lost contact with N Unit but they reengaged." Eagle replied

"Battle status?"

"There's a significant firefight on Pen y Fan and scattered encounters throughout the rest of camp."

"Wounded?"

"18 reported, sir." Snake replied, looking up from the paper where he was quickly scribbling from the radio chatter.

"Casualites?"

"3 reported, 7 unaccounted for, sir." Snake pressed the headset closer to his ear "Make that 4, sir."

The Major nodded solemnly, "How long until the Rendevouz?"

"20 minutes, sir." Fox reported "MI6 has established radio contact they will be landing in the field 50 metres north of our location, sir."

"C Unit" the Major barked to the men standing guard by the door.

"Sir!" they replied, jumping to attention.

"Secure the perimeter of the landing pad. We need that clear when the chopper arrives."

"Yes, sir!" they returned and quickly filed out of the room.

The Major stood walked to where Wolf was sitting with a blanket wrapped Cub.

"How is he?"

"Better than he has been, he'll make it, sir."

The Major nodded, "He's a pretty strong kid. But you know that now."

"About that, sir, thank you."

"For what, soldier?"

"For the file, it…it cleared a lot of things up."

The man nodded "I can imagine. He has quite the story."

The room lapsed into silence as both men fell into their thoughts. They were quickly brought back when the boy began to stir, pulling against the blanket wrapped around him.

"Snake" Wolf barked waving the medic over from his post. The man quickly grabbed his bag and crossed the room kneeling beside the child to begin taking his stats. Alex's unfocused eyes finally opened to meet Wolf's.

"How are you feeling, Alex?" Wolf queried.

"Better, Yassen," He slurred.

Wolf sighed; he had hoped that Cub would have broken from his fever dreams after nearly a week in detox. It was becoming obvious that the drugs had a stronger hold on him than they had originally thought.

"Put this under your tongue, Alex." Snake ordered, handing Wolf the field thermometer as he moved to check the boy's pupils and pulse.

When the thermometer beeped and Snake snatched it from Wolf, holding it towards the light to get the reading. "Fever is constant at 102, pulse has lowered slightly, pupils are still dilated." The man sighed, packing his bag back "We need his fever to break for him to make more progress."

"What'll break it?" Wolf queried

"An ice bath would be ideal, though a stable environment would help too, preferably not one where he is moved around in a laundry bag." The medic snapped, though the ruse to get Alex to the Major's had been necessary given the situation. They never knew who was watching. "The sooner we get him out of here the better."

Wolf nodded returning to stare back at the young spy in front of him. He blinked when hazy brown eyes met his.

"Yassen?" the boy slurred

Wolf, alarmed, looked to Snake who nodded. "Keep him talking, maybe it will pull him back to reality."

"Yes, Alex?"

"You said they were evil, Yassen," he slurred "But they weren't."

Wolf sighed and licked his lips, "Who's 'they'?"

"K Unit, you said they tortured me when MI6 was training me. They couldn't have."

"And why not?"

" The….they wanted to keep me safe, Yassen, just like you." Wolf bristled at being compared to the assassin but froze at the boy's next words "I think I like it with them, Yassen, I think I would like to stay there."

"Stay where?"

"With my unit, they would keep me safe. They could train me so that you could go back to your old job to help people."

Wolf audibly growled "Yassen does not help people, Alex."

"Then what do you do?"

"He hurts people, very badly. He has hurt you too, Alex, he killed your Uncle, your last living relative." The boy's eyes seemed to lose their glossy sheen.

"Yassen said that he would never hurt me."

"Yassen lied." Wolf returned, plainly.

"Yassen would never lie to me."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Cub, but Yassen has ALWAYS lied to you."

The boy closed his eyes allowing the room to lapse into silence for a few minutes before his timid voice once again broke it. "Wolf?"

"Yeah, Cub?"

"Would you hurt me?"

He looked taken aback, but a reassuring nod from Snake brought him back to reality.

"No, Cub, you're part of my Unit."

The boy visibly relaxed in his arms, and opened his tired eyes and cracked a sad smile. "I'm glad I'm back."

"Go to sleep, Cub, you look exhausted." The older man sighed

"Yes, sir" the boy replied, curling tiredly back into the blankets.

A pointed cough from Fox brought the group back to reality, "C Unit just checked in, you need to RV."

"What's the battle status?"

"Scorpia's gained ground on the East side of camp and have pushed our men back to the obstacle course. They came prepared."

"ETA on reinforcements?"

"Half an hour, sir."

The Major sighed "Wolf, grab Cub. Snake you will join C Unit to support the RV. As soon as he's off I want both of you back here for orders."

"Yes, sir." Both men returned, Wolf gathered Alex into his arms and followed Snake out the door.

Finding the major's quarters had been relatively easy given the situation. After scouting the camp for the past week Yassen had become reflexively familiar with the layout. This knowledge had provided him with a conundrum of how he was to going to infiltrate the fortified building. It would have been a significant task without the additional challenge of the building crawling with SAS personnel poised for attack.

He had taken a risky position on the roof of the empty Administration building, which he had chosen for its perfect view and close proximity to the major's quarters. However, it was the activity occurring on the field directly in front of him intrigued the assassin. It was obvious from the sound of gunfire that the firefight was still quite a distance away. Scorpia would not advance on this part of camp for some time. While their soldiers were very well trained, they could not help the initial advantage held by SAS trainees on their own turf who had prior knowledge of the attack.

It became increasingly clear based on the movements of the soldiers that a defense was not their current objective as they quickly lit four landing flares in the field.

'A helicopter must be coming, probably with reinforcements.' The man thought sourly. That would not help him retrieve his ward.

The positioning of the landing pad did seem odd. It would be much more practical to use the field near the medical barracks which was much larger and safer for a landing. This brought to light the far more likely possibility that this was a transport to keep Alex from being brought back to Scorpia. If so this would be Yassen's only opportunity to retrieve his ward before he was back in MI6's hands.

The steady beat of chopper blades carried through the night air providing all the information that Yassen needed. It was stealth helicopter not the heavier, double rotor models used to transport soldiers. If he was going to get his ward back his opportunity was at hand. Pulling his rifle off his back the man carefully took aim at the soldiers surrounding the landing area. The door to the Major's quarters opened and two men hustled out, one carrying a limp figure wrapped in blankets. 4 soldiers instantly surrounded them, obviously serving as their cover.

Yassen inwardly smirked, watching as the men walked meters in front of his position, waiting until the group was standing in front of the landing pad before he opened fire. Dropping two of the soldiers surrounding the helipad before the others caught on.

"Sniper!" one of Alex's protective unit yelled. But the overwhelming sound of the helicopter blades overhead scattered his voice, preventing all but those closest to him from hearing.

The two remaining men guarding the helipad returned fire, their bullets ricocheting off the cinderblock walls. Unflinching Yassen quickly picked them off but it was too late, his position was blown. Two of Alex's protective group broke off to return cover fire as the remaining group retreated back to the Major's quarters. Taking a quick shot he downed one and quickly rolled to the right just in time as the other man's bullets tore holes in the tin roof where the assassin had once lain. Regaining his bearing he quickly gunned down the final man and with two more shots the escorts fell to the ground leaving only Wolf on the sprint to safety.

Yassen quickly jumped from the building, rolling into a run to block the men as they neared the front of the building. He quickly pulled a pistol and momentarily stopped to a take a final shot in a bid to halt Wolf's progress to the door. The man hesitated as his teammate vanished from beside him, by the time he looked back up Yassen was in front of him, gun pointed at his head. Even in their close proximity the assassin knew that words would be useless, the chopper blades were too loud. He jerked his gun toward the ground and Wolf silently obeyed, laying the boy on the ground in front of him. The soldier stood once again and Yassen jerked his gun to the side. Wolf defiantly met his gaze before taking a protective step in front of Alex.

He would not give up without a fight.

**Veracity**

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**Next Chapter: Scorpia, Wolf vs. Yassen, and Alex's fate **


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